John (Ryan) Banta
Biography
Dr. Banta’s research interests are based in the earth sciences. He received his bachelors degree from University of California, Davis majoring in Soil and Water Science with an Environmental Toxicology minor. He performed his graduate work at the University of Nevada, Reno where he received an M.S. and Ph.D. in Hydrology. His graduate and postdoctoral research focused on interdisciplinary approaches to investigate implications of high resolution trace element ice core and surface snow records from Greenland and Antarctica, with specific attention to tracers of dust, sea salt, anthropogenic pollution, and climate change. Dr. Banta’s current research focuses on lower latitude interests related to hydrologic cycle, geochemsitry and water quality, as well as surface water and ground water interactions. He is working with issues related to water quality and water quantity in cooperation with local partners to better understand hydrologic processes.
Science and Products
Hydrogeologic Atlas for Fort Bliss
Successful long term stewardship of Fort Bliss lands includes managing traditional hydrologic resources such as surface water and groundwater resources and increasingly, geologic resources such as geothermal reservoirs and deep well injection locations. The USGS Texas Water Science Center is developing a garrison-wide hydrogeologic atlas that describes the hydrology and hydrogeology of Fort...
Effects of Huisache Removal on Evapotranspiration
USGS Texas Water Science Center scientists are evaluating potential changes in the hydrologic budget, specifically evapotranspiration, as a result of brush management (applied to huisache) as a conservation practice.
Evapotranspiration Science in Texas
Evapotranspiration is the evaporation of water from plant leaves and the ground surface and is an important component of a water budget. The USGS Texas Water Science Center (TXWSC) monitors evapotranspiration rates to evaluate how changes in land cover and soil moisture content may change water budgets. Visit the links below for more information on our data and science.
Edwards Aquifer Studies in Texas
The Edwards aquifer in south-central Texas is one of the most productive aquifers in the Nation and is the primary source of water for the rapidly growing San Antonio area. Springs issuing from the Edwards aquifer provide habitat for several threatened and endangered species, serve as locations for recreational activities, and supply downstream users.
The USGS Texas Water Science Center...
Comprehensive Water-Quality Study for the Arkansas River Basin, Colorado
Changes in land and water use associated with population growth and agricultural practices within the Arkansas River Basin are likely to affect water-quality on a local and, possibly, a basin-wide scale. To manage the limited water resources in the basin most effectively it is important to understand the processes that affect water quality within the basin and how future changes in land and...
Comparison of the power consumption coefficient (PCC) method to totalizing flow meter (TFM) for estimating ground-water pumpage in the Arkansas River Valley, Colorado
In the mid-1990s, the Colorado Division of Water Resources (CDWR) adopted rules governing measurement of tributary groundwater pumpage for the Arkansas River Basin. The rules allowed groundwater pumpage to be determined using one of two approaches—power conversion coefficient (PCC) or totalizing flowmeters (TFM). In addition, the rules allowed a PCC to be applied to the electrical power usage...
Hydrogeology and water quality of the shallow unconsolidated-rock aquifers in the Upper Arkansas River Basin from Buena Vista to Salida, Colorado
Population growth near Buena Vista and Salida in Chaffee County has caused concern for the long-term availability and quality of groundwater . Groundwater withdrawals from deep wells that are completed in the basin-fill deposits and designed to supply multiple-dwelling developments could cause drawdowns in water levels of the overlying aquifers. Continued development of groundwater supplies in...
Arkansas River Water-Quality Data
The Arkansas River Basin drains an area of 24,904 square miles of southeastern Colorado. Like other basins on the Front Range, the Arkansas Basin has experienced growth and is expected to have significant increases in growth in the future. Demands on the limited water resources also will increase as changes in water storage, water releases, and/or transfer of waters within or outside of the...
Effects of huisache removal on rangeland evapotranspiration in Victoria County, south-central Texas, 2015–18
The U.S. Geological Survey and Desert Research Institute, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Victoria County Groundwater Conservation District, Victoria Soil and Water Conservation District, and the San Antonio River Authority, evaluated the hydrologic effects of Vachellia...
Slattery, Richard N.; Ockerman, Darwin J.; Bromley, Matthew; Huntington, Justin; Banta, John R.
New insights into surface-water/groundwater exchanges in the Guadalupe River, Texas, from floating geophysical methods
In south-central Texas, the amount of streamflow in the Guadalupe River is a primary concern for local and downstream communities because of municipal, agricultural, wildlife, and recreational uses. Understanding the flow paths and rates of exchange between the surface water in the river and the groundwater in the underlying Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer...
Ikard, Scott J.; Banta, J. Ryan; Stanton, Gregory P.
The importance of parameterization when simulating the hydrologic response of vegetative land-cover change
Computer models of hydrologic systems are frequently used to investigate the hydrologic response of land-cover change. If the modeling results are used to inform resource-management decisions, then providing robust estimates of uncertainty in the simulated response is an important consideration. Here we examine the importance of parameterization,...
White, Jeremy T.; Stengel, Victoria G.; Rendon, Samuel H.; Banta, John
U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, San Antonio, Texas, May 16–18, 2017
Introduction and AcknowledgmentsKarst aquifer systems are present throughout parts of the United States and some of its territories, and have developed in carbonate rocks (primarily limestone and dolomite) and evaporites (gypsum, anhydrite, and halite) that span an interval of time encompassing more than 550 million years. The depositional...
Kuniansky, Eve L.; Spangler, Lawrence E. Source, variability, and transformation of nitrate in a regional karst aquifer: Edwards aquifer, central Texas.
Many karst regions are undergoing rapid population growth and expansion of urban land accompanied by increases in wastewater generation and changing patterns of nitrate (NO3−) loading to surface and groundwater. We investigate variability and sources of NO3− in a regional karst aquifer system, the Edwards aquifer of central Texas...
Musgrove, MaryLynn; Opsahl, Stephen P.; Mahler, Barbara; Herrington, Chris; Sample, Thomas; Banta, John
Sediment conditions in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-13
Sediment plays an important role in the ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand sediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, completed a two-part study in the San...
Ockerman, Darwin J.; Banta, J. Ryan; Crow, Cassi L.; Opsahl, Stephen P. Characterizing and simulating sediment loads and transport in the lower part of the San Antonio River Basin
This extended abstract is based on the U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Reports by Crow et al. (2013) and Banta and Ockerman (2014). Suspended sediment in rivers and streams can play an important role in ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. The quantity and...
Banta, J. Ryan; Ockerman, Darwin J.; Crow, Cassi; Opsahl, Stephen P.
Simulation of hydrologic conditions and suspended-sediment loads in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-12
Suspended sediment in rivers and streams can play an important role in ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand suspended-sediment loads and transport in a watershed, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the San Antonio River...
Banta, J. Ryan; Ockerman, Darwin J.
Sediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, and at a site on the Guadalupe River downstream from the San Antonio River Basin, 1966-2013
San Antonio and surrounding municipalities in Bexar County, Texas, are in a rapidly urbanizing region in the San Antonio River Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority and the Texas Water Development Board, compiled historical sediment data collected between 1996 and 2004 and collected suspended-...
Crow, Cassi L.; Banta, J. Ryan; Opsahl, Stephen P.
Surface-water quality in the upper San Antonio River Basin, Bexar County, Texas, 1992-98
The potential effects of chemicals in rivers and streams on human health or the ecology have long been a source of concern to water managers. Chemicals in rivers may result from natural or anthropogenic sources (such as industrial or residential practices) which are commonly associated with urbanized watersheds. The U.S. Geological Survey, in...
Banta, J. Ryan; Slattery, Richard N.; Crow, Cassi L.
Groundwater levels and water-quality observations pertaining to the Austin Group, Bexar County, Texas, 2009-11
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, examined groundwater-level altitudes (groundwater levels) and water-quality data pertaining to the Austin Group in Bexar County, Texas, during 2009–11. Hydrologic data collected included daily mean groundwater levels collected at seven sites in the study area....
Banta, J.R.; Clark, Allan K.
Streamflow gain and loss and water quality in the upper Nueces River Basin, south-central Texas, 2008-10
The U.S. Geological Survey-in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Nature Conservancy, the Real Edwards Conservation and Reclamation District, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department-investigated streamflow gain and loss and water quality in the upper Nueces River Basin, south-central Texas, specifically in the watersheds of...
Banta, J. Ryan; Lambert, Rebecca B.; Slattery, Richard N.; Ockerman, Darwin J.